You Can Now Buy Ferrari's Obscure, Record-Chasing V-12 Hydroplane Boat
Ferrari is a company best known for its racing cars and production supercars, an automotive powerhouse that has been prominent in the industry for decades. More recently, it's become one of the world's most prominent brands, making millions off of branded sunglasses, hats, shirts, and jackets. But long before it became a publicly traded merchandise company, it helped build a little-known and absolutely wild boat.
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"Boat" really doesn't even capture the strangeness of the situation. Sure, car companies cross over with marine manufacturers constantly. Honda builds outboards, Lamborghini brands yachts, and GM has long sold Marine-ready internal engines. But Ferrari didn't just stick its name on a race boat or supply an engine; the company helped develop a record-chasing Hydroplane called the Arno XI.
The Arno XI was developed in conjunction with speedboat racer Achille Castoldi, who pitched Enzo Ferrari himself on the idea of building a boat that would set a speed record in the 800-kg class. At Enzo's insistence, the 4.5-liter V-12 Castoldi bought for the project was replaced with a racing engine from Scuderia Ferrari that made between 550 and 600 hp in race tune, per the ad on DuPont Registry. That engine was fitted in a hardwood, surface-skimming hydroplane that went on to set the record.
That original engine blew soon after, but the Arno XI has been lovingly refurbished since and is once again powered by a 4.5-liter Ferrari V-12. The stock version made 385 hp, though we're not sure whether this one has been further modified. Either way, it's a strange and interesting piece of Ferrari history, touched by The Man himself. The price isn't listed, but when it sold back in 2012 at an RM Sotheby's auction, it fetched €868,000 ($1,012.717 at today's exchange rate).
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